Ranma's little Secret
by NatsumiDragneel123
Summary: What if Ranma had a twin sister? And what if his father knew and never told him? Follow the adventures of Miyuki Saotome, the younger twin sister of Ranma as she travels to Nerima to locate the brother and father who left her and her mother for training in China. She laughs. She learns. She even falls in love. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

In a small town just twenty miles outside Toyko, Japan, a young teenager named Miyuki Saotome lived with her mother. And early one Sunday morning, this mellow sixteen year old was awoken by a loud knock on her bedroom door.

"Miyuki, honey! Breakfast is ready!" Mrs. Nodoka Saotome called to her daughter through the thin wood.

"Okay, Mom! Be down in a minute!" the half-asleep teen shouted back with a yawn.

As she heard her mother's footsteps heading back downstairs, Miyuki got up from her bed to take care of business in the bathroom across the hall. And when she was finished, the teenager headed downstairs for breakfast herself.

And when she finally reached the dining room, Miyuki sat down at the table and realized her mother had made all her favorite dishes.

"Wow, Mom! What's the occasion?" she asked as she sat down, impressed.

"Honey, we need to talk." Mrs. Saotome said with a sad look as she handed her daughter a bowl of white rice.

This caused Miyuki to give her mother a concerned look as she slowly reached forward and took the rice from her hands.

"Mom, what's going on? Is there something wrong?" she asked slowly, afraid of her mother's answer.

Giving a heavy sigh, Mrs. Saotome began to tell her tale of woe.

"You see, my dear, I have been hiding a great secret from you all these years. I'm afraid your father isn't dead. He left on a training mission when you were just three years old...along with your twin brother."

"Wait, _what did you just say_?!" Miyuki screamed in shock. "Daddy's still alive?! _And_ I have a twin brother?! How long were you planning on keeping this from me?!"

Hearing the betrayal in her daughter's voice, Mrs. Saotome felt guilty tears roll down her pale cheeks.

"I am so sorry, honey. I didn't know what else to do. I just thought it would sound better than telling you that your father left thirteen years ago with your three year old brother, all to train him from a young age as the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. And that, after leaving, I haven't heard anything from your father at all. No letters. No calls. Nothing."

Wiping away her tears, Mrs. Saotome stood up and walked over to a nearby cabinet, removing a small wooden box from within.

After she had returned to the table, the older woman placed the box on the table and pulled out a folded piece of paper and a antique silver locket.

"Mom, what are those things?" Miyuki asked, her curiousity getting the better of her anger.

To answer her daughter, Mrs. Saotome set the two items in the middle of the table, revealing an elegant letter "S" carved into the shimmering metal.

"This is an antique locket that your father gave me before he and your brother left on their training mission. And this is a letter sent to me by your brother himself."

"But...I thought you said that you haven't heard anything from him or Daddy in years?" the teenager asked in confusion.

However, this just caused Mrs. Saotome to let out an amused chuckle.

"I only said I hadn't heard from your father. I never said anything about your brother." she answered with a slight smirk.

Miyuki just stared at her mother as the older woman explained her words.

"Your brother secretly sent me this letter several months ago, letting me know that he and your father were moving in with an old friend of his. He even wrote that he was dating one of the older gentleman's young daughters. Also within the letter is the address for his current high school, just in case I wanted to visit him without your father's knowledge. And I think it's time you got to know him for yourself.

And if we hurry, we can have you packed and on the train to Nerima in the next few hours."

So, after breakfast, the mother and daughter duo packed Miyuki's favorite backpack with several outfits, shoes, underthings, and anything else they thought she would need to live with her brother and father.

***TIME SKIP***

Nearly two hours later, Miyuki and her mother were walking the short distance from their home to the nearby train station, with Miyuki carrying her large, over-stuffed backpack.

The excited young teen had even dressed in her favorite outfit. A knee-length Chinese dress in baby blue that showed off slim, pale legs, along with a pair of ebony-black slippers. She even pulled her flame-red hair into a set of double odango with a braided pigtail underneath each bun.

And even though it was slow going, they were able to make it to the station with fifteen minutes to spare before Miyuki's train would arrive.

After waiting in line for several minutes to buy a ticket, Mrs. Saotome pulled her daughter into a tight embrace. And a few seconds later held the young teen at arms length with tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Mom, is something wrong?" Miyuki asked in a worried tone.

"No, honey. I'm just so happy for you. I know you don't remember, but you and your brother used to be so close when you were young. And when he left, you were so upset. And, I want you to take this with you."

Suddenly, Mrs. Saotome reached into her purse and pulled out the silver locket from earlier.

"Really, Mom?" the teen said in joyful surprise. "But, why...I mean, are you sure?"

This caused Mrs. Saotome to give her daughter a small smile as the older woman placed the necklace in her hands.

"I'm giving you this treasure for a reason. Look inside."

Curious, Miyuki opened the locket, only to reveal a picture of her as a young child and a strangely familiar dark-haired boy of around the same age.

"Is that...?" the shocked young teen began, only to be cut off by her mother's gentle voice.

"Yes, that boy with you in the picture is your twin brother. I hope that having this with you will help you to recognize him when you meet."

Before she could voice her appreciation, the train pulled into the station and Miyuki was being rushed aboard by her mother.

And as the train began to pull out of the station a few minutes later, Miyuki waved good-bye to her mother from the open window of her car.

"Good luck, Miyuki dear. And remember, your brother's name is Ranma! I love you!"

Finally letting herself feel the nervousness lying in the pit of her stomach, Miyuki leaned back in her seat and stared at the picture in the locket, trying to memorize every detail of her forgotten brother's face as the train continued out of the station and down the tracks that would lead her to him.

***TIME SKIP***

Nearly three and a half hours later, Miyuki found herself staring out the window in anticipation as the train pulled into Nerima Station, letting her know that she was growing ever closer to finding her long-lost brother

And oddly enough, during the long train ride spent staring at her brother's picture, Miyuki had begun to recall a small amount of memories involving Ranma.

She remembered how they used to train together, even though Miyuki had not practiced martial arts seriously in several years. In fact, she only did simple exercises as a way of staying in shape.

She also remembered that her brother was her protector as a child. The older boys in the neighborhood used to pick on her for being a cry-baby. But, when they did this, Ranma would always come to her rescue, even if that meant getting hurt himself.

Miyuki felt herself smile at these memories as she fastened the locket around her neck, letting it rest just below her collarbone. After she had done this, the teenager removed her bag from below her seat and proceeded to exit the train.

Finally, she was able to drag her heavy backpack off the train, but when she made it off the platform and into the station, Miyuki wasn't sure about which direction she would need to go to find her brother's high school. She wasn't even positive she had the correct name.

Setting down her suitcase on a nearby bench, she reached into her backpack and pulled out the letter her mother had given her with the name and address of the school.

"Furinkan High School." she read out loud. After which, she walked up to a passing security guard and asked for directions to the school.

And a few moments later, the excited teen was walking through the streets of Nejima in hopes of reuniting with her long-lost brother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Over thirty minutes later, Miyuki was beginning to feel as if she would never find Furinkan High School.

She had been dragging around her heavy backpack for what felt like forever, so when she finally stopped for a rest, the tired young teen leaned against a nearby wall, letting the cool stone seep into her bones.

And after taking a few minutes to catch her breath, she stood up, only to notice a brass plaque hanging on the smooth wall.

And it read "Furinkan High School".

She had found it. _She_ _had finally_ _found it_.

Grinning broadly, the excited teen pulled her backpack over her shoulders and walked through the school gates to search for her brother.

But, before she could get too far into her search, Miyuki was suddenly met with a pair of strong arms pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Oh, my pigtailed goddess! You've come to be with me!"

Panicking, Miyuki gave herself over to her instincts and her martial arts training.

With her free arm, she elbowed the strange man in the stomach as hard as she could and when he loosed his grip, used his head as a spring board to propel herself a safe distance away.

"Who the hell do you think you are, you perverted bastard?" she yelled in a furious rage. "Why would you just grab me like that?"

"But, my pigtailed angel, it is I. Do you not remember your true love? The great Tatewaki Kuno, age 17? Known as the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School and the rising star of the high school fencing world?" the strange young man said with a weird dramatic flare.

"I'm sorry, Kuno-san. But, I really don't know you. I'm just here looking for a young man named Ranma Saotome."

But, as she said this, Kuno flew into an surprising rage.

"SAOTOME! YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST MY LOVE!" the odd young man yelled into the sky before drawing his wooden blade and running away at top speed.

"Weirdo." Miyuki mumbled to herself as she returned to her search of the school grounds.

But, before she had taken two steps, she heard the sounds of angry yelling, along with manic laughter, coming from somewhere behind the school. And, once again, her curiousity took over and Miyuki ran as fast as she could in the direction of the strange sounds.

***TIME SKIP***

When she had finally reached the back of the school, Miyuki was met with the sight of a tiny old man carrying a large bag on his shoulders and he was being chased by a mob of obvious angry female students.

And since Miyuki was an incredibly honorable person, she felt that she couldn't stand by and let the mob hurt a frail, old man.

So, she dropped her bag to the ground and ran as fast as she could to save him.

Seeing that she may be too late, Miyuki propelled herself off the ground as hard as she could, landing directly between the mob of angry teenage girls and the elderly man.

"Stop this! How can you girls chase this poor, frail old man? What could he have possibly done to make you so mad?" she yelled to the teens.

But, before the group could answer, Miyuki felt someone tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around to find the old man looking at her with a strange and creepy stare.

"You...You're protecting me?" he said with tears in his large eyes. "You mean...you really do care about me?"

Feeling pity for the odd man, Miyuki bent down to one knee and gave him a small smile.

"Of course I do." she said to him in a gentle tone. "Why wouldn't I? You may be an old man, but that doesn't mean you're any less importaAAAGGGHHHH!"

She had screamed because, while she was talking, the old man had jumped into her arms and was now openly fondling her chest.

And in her surprise, Miyuki lost her temper and used all her strength to punch the perverted goat in the head and off her body.

"WHAT THE HELL, YOU DISGUSTING LITTLE FREAK? WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?" she screamed in fury as she stomped her foot on top of the old man.

"But, Ranma...I thought...you said...?" the old man whined pitifully from the ground.

" _Ranma_?" she whispered in shock as she froze in place, giving the mob of girls the opportunity they needed to begin beating the old man with brooms, tennis rackets, and baseball bats.

But, after several seconds had passed, the old man was able to escape from the mob and disappear from sight.

And, unfortunately, this caused the angry girls to round on a still-frozen Miyuki.

"Why the hell did you try to protect the old freak?" one of the girls yelled from the middle of the crowd. And this caused several more angry shouts to come from the other girls.

"Yeah! He takes our gym clothes every day! What is your problem?"

Suddenly, the obvious leader of the mob, a girl around Miyuki's age with short, blue-black hair, stepped forward and began to tear angrily into Miyuki.

"They're right, you jerk! You hate Happosai more than anyone! Why would you save him? You knew what he would do!"

Miyuki was confused, but, luckily, she was saved from the girl's rage by an oddly familiar male voice shouting out from behind the crowd of girls.

"Come on, Akane. Leave the poor girl alone."

The crowd then parted to reveal a tall young man wearing a bright red Chinese tank top, a pair of loose black pants, and a pair of black slippers. His long black hair was pulled into a braided ponytail at the nape of his neck.

Miyuki stared at the young man, who was now arguing with the short-haired girl she assumed was Akane. And she was positive she had seen him somewhere before.

That's when the young man turned towards her, revealing a kind smile and dark eyes.

" _Ranma._ " she said in an awed whisper, unable to tear her eyes.

"Yeah. Do I know you?" he said with a skeptical look.

"I...I hope so. My name is Miyuki. Miyuki Saotome. And Ranma, I'm your sister."

But, her sudden announcement did not have her desired affect on Ranma.

Instead, he just stared at her with a strange look in his blue-gray eyes, as if he were trying to figure out if she were telling the truth or not. And as he continued to stare, Ranma felt an odd feeling in the back of his mind, like a long-forgotten door had suddenly opened to his memories.

Ranma was three years old and staring down a group of bullies, who had been picking on a little girl with long red hair, who was now crying on the ground.

"Leave her alone. you big jerks! If you want to pick on someone, try picking on me!" he said as he positioned himself in a traditional martial arts stance.

"You asked for it, twerp." the largest kid said before throwing a heavy punch.

Ranma was able to catch his fist, but when he did, the older boy's two friends grabbed him by the arms and held him still as the boy repeatedly punched his body.

Even after getting free, it took several more minutes of fighting before the older boys were finally chased away when Ranma was able to land a good punch in the leader's face, causing his nose to flow a river of blood.

Ranma was pretty beat up himself, but he just dusted himself off before he knelt down to the little girl, who was still on the ground.

"You okay, Miyu?" he said in a gentle tone as he helped the girl stand up. And all of a sudden, she threw herself into his arms and began to cry as she checked him all over for cuts and bruises.

"Ran-chan! Are you okay? Those boys were really big. Does it hurt anywhere?"

Ranma gave an amused chuckle as he took the young girl by the hand.

"Come on, sis. Let's go home."

"Okay, Onii-chan." she said with a bright smile, while her deep green eyes continued to shine with worry for her brother.

Snapping out of his trance, Ranma slowly turned his dark eyes to Miyuki. And after several seconds of silent stares, he pulled his sister into his arms in a tight embrace.

"My God. Miyu, it's you. It really is you." he said in an emotional tone.

"Ran-chan, it's me." Miyuki whispered as tears flowed down her pale cheeks.

Suddenly, the two were seperated by the sounds of several angry voices coming from all around them.

"RANMA, YOU JERK!"

"AI-YAH! RANMA! WHAT YOU DOING WITH THAT GIRL?"

"REALLY, RANMA-HONEY? ANOTHER FIANCEE?"

"RANMA SAOTOME, PREPARE TO DIE!"

"RANMA, HOW DARE YOU BETRAY AKANE!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The reunited siblings turned around to see that several teens were charging at them as a raging mob.

"Stay behind me, Miyu. I can handle this." Ranma whispered as he put himself between the angry teens and his sister.

" _Ran-chan hasn't changed. He's still my protective older brother_." Miyuki thought to herself with a small smile as she obeyed Ranma's order and stood just a few feet behind him, which was good because the furious group had finally reached the duo, all of them yelling at once.

Looking closer, the redhead noticed that this mini mob not only held the short-haired girl from earlier and the strange dark-haired young man who had suddenly grabbed her, only to disappear in a rush. It also included a feminine-looking young man with long brown hair wearing a dark blue uniform, a tall busty girl with knee-length purple locks wearing a hot pink Chinese gown, much like Miyuki's own, and a pair of snow-white slippers, and, finally, a handsome young man with short black hair tied back with a yellow bandana, this one wearing a shabby pale yellow tank top, a pair of loose-fitting black pants, and a set of black slippers, all of them yelling angrily at Ranma as he tried to calm them down and explain what was going on, but, instead, found himself ducking and dodging strikes and swings from all directions.

And, unfortunately, the tall brunette, still wearing his blue kendo uniform, was able to sneak around Ranma and grab Miyuki from behind, pulling her into a princess embrace.

Hearing her squeals of surprise, Ranma turned his head, only just able to dodge the heavy-handed punches of Akane and the boy with the bandana. After which, he used the punches's momentum to leap into the air, flip around, and aim a powerful kick at the upperclassman's face.

"LET GO OF MY SISTER, YOU BASTARD!" he shrieked in fury as the kick made its mark, causing Kuno to loosen his grip and give Miyuki the opening she needed to get free. So, she used the opportunity to use her arms to push Kino farther away from her before using her legs to propel herself out of reach and land gently on the ground next to her brother.

"You okay, sis?" Ranma asked in concern.

But, Miyuki just gave him a reassuring smile as she placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"I'm fine, Ran-chan. But, thanks for the help. That guy is a major weirdo. He grabbed me earlier when I first arrived. He called me some strange nickname. Something like "pigtailed goddess" or whatever. Like he thought he knew me, but I've never seen him before in my life."

As she said all this, Miyuki noticed that her brother seemed to be avoiding her eyes, all the while, both of them dodging attacks from all angles.

"Ran-chan? Do you know something about this?" she asked in annoyance as she used the long-haired brunette's own weapon, an over-large spatula, to throw him into the purple-haired Chinese girl, who had rushed forward to deliver a strong, heavy-handed punch to Miyuki's face.

"Uhhhh…kinda. I'll explain later." Ranma answered as he dodged an odd attack from the boy with the bandana, which seemed to cause the ground to explode in a large amount of dust and rubble.

And after another several minutes of fighting, Miyuki had finally had enough and ended the fight by punching each person in stomach just hard enough to stun them.

"All right! That's quite enough! There's obviously been some huge misunderstanding here. So, if I could introduce myself, my name is Miyuki Saotome. I'm Ranma's younger twin sister. We are not dating at all. I just came here to see my brother. That is all."

After her speech, the other teens stood up, only to stare at Ranma and Miyuki in shock as the dark-haired teen proceeded to introduce his sister to each of them in turn.

First off was the feminine-looking young man in the dark blue uniform.

"Miyu, this is Ukyo Kuongi. She's an old friend from my training journey and she owns a popular okonomiyaki restaurant in town. Ukyo, this is my sister, Miyuki."

"Just call me Uc-chan. It's nice to meet you, Miyuki."

Miyuki took the offered hand, still in shock over her sudden realization.

"So, Uc-chan…you're a…girl?"

Ukyo then gave the redhead such a harsh glare that Ranma quickly hurried his sister away from his friend.

"Moving on! Quickly now, Miyu!"

Next in line was the strange young man in the kendo uniform, who had recovered from the earlier attack and was now taking turns at glaring at Ranma with obvious loathing and looking at Miyuki with a creepy stare.

"Miyu, this is Kuno, an upperclassman here at the school. And I'm only telling you this so that you can avoid him and his perversions at all costs."

" _Saotome_!" Kuno said in a warning tone. However, Ranma held his gaze, giving Kuno a harsh glare of his own as he led his sister away from the older teen with a protective arm around her shoulders the entire time.

The third person was the short-haired girl, who was still glaring at Ranma in both shock and anger.

"Miyu, may I introduce my fiancee, Akane Tendo. Pop and I have been staying with her and her family at their dojo. Akane, meet your future sister-in-law, Miyuki Saotome"

Hearing Ranma call her his fiancee seemed to embarrass Akane because her face had turned the color of a ripe tomato.

"You big dummy." she said under her breath, but Miyuki saw in her eyes the obvious affection Akane had for her brother.

This caused the redhead to give Akane her brightest smile as she pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's so nice to meet you, Akane-chan. I haven't seen my brother in thirteen years, but it's comforting to know that he wasn't alone. I hope that we can be great friends, as well as sisters."

After she had released Akane from the hug, the short-haired girl gave Miyuki a wide smile of her own that lit up her smiling brown eyes.

"It's nice to meet you too, Miyuki-chan. I never knew that Ranma had such a charming twin sister."

Suddenly, Ranma was once again rushing Miyuki down the line to the next person in line, the pretty Chinese girl with long purple hair.

"Miyu, this is Shampoo. She's an Amazon from a small village in China Pop and I visited on our training mission. Unfortunately, our relationship is…a little complicated. Dear God, Shampoo, get off me!"

He had screamed this last part because Shampoo had suddenly jumped into his arms and was now openly rubbing her ample breasts against his chest in an obvious invitation.

However, this didn't last very long because Akane grabbed her by the arm and threw Shampoo several feet away in a blind rage.

"I'VE TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES! STAY AWAY FROM MY MAN OR YOU DIE, YOU AMAZONIAN COW!" Akane shrieked, causing Shampoo to curse in Chinese before she and Akane began to fight in the school yard.

And this caused Miyuki to stare at them in shock.

"Ranma! Shouldn't you stop them?" she cried in fear as worried tears began to flow down her pale cheeks.

But, Ranma just gave an awkward chuckle as he just watched the two girls fighting with an odd look on his face.

"I would, sis. But, that wouldn't be very good judgement on my part. Better to just let it happen. Plus, when Akane's this mad, she won't go down in a fight easily. Even against Shampoo. Let's just move on."

And with that, Miyuki gave the brawling girls one last look before shrugging her shoulders and joined her brother in front of the boy with the bandana.

"Finally, we have Ryoga Hibiki. He's an old rival from my middle school days. He also studies martial arts and we spar all the time to help each other sharpen our skills. Don't we, P-chan?"

Hearing this strange nickname, Miyuki gave her brother a confused look as he smirked in Ryoga's direction as the dark-haired boy began to yell at Ranma in a harsh whisper.

And while this was happening, Miyuki took in Ryoga's shaggy appearance. His clothes were a bit ragged, but that did little to hide his strong muscled arms, long legs, and tan skin that paired so perfectly with his ebony-colored hair and warm brown eyes.

To put it simply, she liked what she saw and she liked it a lot.

Clearing her throat, the two arguing boys looked back to her with identical looks of apologetic shame.

"Sorry about that, sis. Ryoga's always had a bit of a temper."

Ryoga gave her brother another harsh glare, but quickly turned back to Miyuki with a wide smile that lit up his eyes with a delightful spark.

"Yeah, we're sorry. Pleased to meet you, Miyuki. Feel free to just call me Ryoga, okay?"

But, instead of simply taking his offered hand, Miyuki gave Ryoga a flirty smile and a heavy-lidded gaze, causing his to turn a deep crimson red at the smoky look in her dark green eyes.

"Oh, trust me, Ryoga. The pleasure is all mine."

Seeing the scene taking place before him, Ranma felt his protective brotherly instincts begin to surface as he stepped forward to intervene.

"Well, we really should be heading home now. So, Ryoga, if you will please release your hold on my sister, we'll be on our way."

As he said all this, Ranma had placed a firm hand on Miyuki's shoulder, only to have her shrug it off and give him a harsh glare. After which, she continued to flirt very openly with Ryoga, who was still a bright red as he tried to make conversation with the pretty redhead.

But, finally, Ranma had had enough and decided to do something drastic.

"Sorry about this, Miyu." he muttered before he snuck up behind her and knocked her out with a well-placed punch to the back of her head.

She fell to the ground, only to be quickly picked up by her brother in a gentle embrace. And before walking away, Ranma gave a shocked Ryoga one final warning.

"Listen very carefully, pig breath. If I catch you near my sister again, I will make sure that Akane knows _exactly_ why you can just appear in the Tendo dojo at the drop of a hat. Catch my drift, _P-chan_?"

After this, Ranma turned away from his rival and walked towards the school's front gate, quickly followed by Akane, who had just finished defeating Shampoo with a well-placed punch to her stomach.

"Come on, Akane. We gotta get home for dinner."


	4. I'M SORRY MY LUVS

Hey there, powerpeeps! Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've had like five different job interviews and failed five times. Then my gramma had a slight stroke so we rushed her to the hospital to make sure she was all right. As it turns out, she was simply dehydrated and the pain she had been feeling was from four broken ribs.Shr she was in ther for several days just to be safe. So' basically, its been one hell of few months. but there is a silver lining To all this. In trying to do anything to keep my mind away from bad scary thoughts, I focused intensely on writing my fanfics and let myself over to my happy place. However, I have been grinding the stone trying find the perfect way to make it up to you. My beloved fans. And I have finally found a solution. Instead of one new chapter, I have decided to post three new longer chapters and then I promise to post a new chapter every week. So, please forgive a poor fangirl whos been dragged away from her computer to do something so easy that it could have easily been done by another member of my family. (hint hint)


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Miyuki finally awakened in her brother's arms just as they had arrived at the tall gates of the Tendo Dojo and was now walking alongside him and Akane. She was also incredibly irritated with her brother for what he had done.

"What the hell is your problem, onii-chan?! Knocking me out like that in front of everyone?!"

However, Ranma didn't answer. Instead, he just shrugged and once again avoided looking at his sister in the eyes, as if he were hiding some incredible secret from her.

Huh. That's weird. Onii-chan's never kept anything from me I wonder what he's hiding." Miyuki mused to herself.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Miyuki finally noticed that the three teens had already entered the interior of the dojo and were being greeted by an older girl with long brown hair tied back with a snow-white ribbon and wearing a pale yellow dress covered by a frilled apron.

"Welcome home, you two." the older woman said with a smile as Ranma answered her with a mumbled, "Hey, Kasumi." before the girl that Miyuku assumed was Kasumi turned her warm brown eyes to land on Miyuki, causing the gentle orbs to widen as she gasped in obvious surprise.

"Oh! Oh my! And…who is our lovely visitor?" she asked with a forced calm, as if she were concealing something important behind her kind smile.

And the odd looks she was giving Ranma and Akane told the confed redhead that were all in on the same secret.

"Okay! What exactly is going on here?!" the now-annoyed young teen yelled at the top of her lungs, causing the conspiring trio to turn and stare at her in surprise.

"I know you all are hiding something from me! And I want to know exactly what that thing is!"

As she continued to scream and rant at her brother and the two girls, her rage turned to hurt, causing hit angry tears to flow down her pale cheeks. Suddenly, a confident and smug female voice came from several feet behind Kasumi.

"How 'bout we just show you instead?"

And after this sentence was uttered by the mystery voice, a wave of cold water was suddenly thrown over Ranma's body, causing him to scream and Akane and the older brunette to give out a pair of sharp gasps.

Hearing these gasps and her brother's surprisingly high-pitched screams, her curiousity overwhelmed her pain, so Miyuki wiped away her tears, only to realize that she now appeared to be looking at an exact mirror image of herself and she was wearing…her brother's clothes?!

"O…Onii-chan? Is…Is that…WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" she finished loudly, her shock beginning to get the better of her as she wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to stop the shaking that was growing ever stronger.

"Now, Miyu, just calm down. I can explain everything, bur I need you to calm down." the now-female Ranma said in a horrifyingly familiar voice.

"And Nabiki…what the hell is wrong with you?! I was still trying to figure out a more gentle way to break the news to poor Miyu."

Miyuki was able to recover from her shock by just enough to realize that the sounds of smug laughter entered the room, quickly followed by a tall girl with a dark brown bob and a mischevious gleam in her eyes, carrying a silver bucket slung over her shoulder.

"Well, Ranma, this way, we get it all out of the way at once. Oh, and by doing this for you, I'm adding another 5000 yen to your tab. Just thought I'd let you know. Bye!" Nabiki said as she finished her speech with a satisfied smile and a flourished wave in Ranma's direction.

And after another few minutes, Ranma gave a heavy sigh before she turned back to Akane with an odd look in her deep blue eyes.

"Hey, Akane? Can you take care of my sister? I'm gonna take a quick bath. I'll be right back, okay, Miyu?"

Miyuki, who was still fighting off her shocked shivers, was only able to give her the slightest of nods as she exited the room with one last fleeting glance in her sister's direction.

But, after several seconds had passed, Miyuki felt herself being gently grabbed by the hand and led through the interior of the Tendo Dojo until she was sitting in a traditional Japanese-style dining room. And, thankfully, her initial shock was slowly wearing off, so she decided to take in her new surroundings.

She noticed that she was sitting on one of several plush green cushions placed around a large wooden table that could seat several people. She also noticed a small TV set sitting in the corner of the room. All of a sudden, she felt a gentle breeze from behind, so she slowly turned around, only to find that, instead of a fourth wall, it was just open space that led a large patio and an incredible garden. And sitting on the patio itself, there was an older gentleman with long black hair and a thick moustache, wearing a set of simple green martial arts gi and playing a board game with what appeared to be…a giant panda?!

After seeing this, Miyuki stared in shock for a full minute before letting out a high-pitched scream as all the odd and unexplainable things that had happened in the past several minutes finally got to her.

And this scream gained the attention of not only the old man and the panda, but also caused Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi to run into the room, quickly followed by the once-again male Ranma, who was wearing nothing but a pair of light blue boxers and a white towel around his neck.

"Miyu! What's wrong? I heard you scream from upstairs!"

Miyuki then turned to her brother, but in her current state of shock, all she was able to mutter was a weak, "P…P…P…P…Panda!"

But, her stammering just caused Ranma to rub the back of his head awkwardly.

"Yeeeaaahhh. I can explain that." he said before pulling a bronze teakettle out of nowhere and poured a long stream of steaming water in the panda's head.

And this surprising act of animal cruelty snapped Miyuki our of her shocked state and threw herself at her brother in a fit of rage.

"Just what the hell is wrong with you, you stupid jerk?! Don't you know that pandas are endangered?! You can't just go pouring hot water on them!"

Sighing heavily, Ranma held his sister back with one hand as he tried to get her calm enough to have a rational conversation.

"Will you calm down already?!" he screamed after several more minutes of Miyuki's angry ranting. "That wasn't even a real panda!"

And this sudden announcement caused Miyuki o freeze in place as her mind tried to process what her brother had just said.

"What do you mean by…? Wait a minute…Daddy?!"

Sitting in the panda's place was a middle-aged man wearing a set of white martial arts gi, a light blue bandana, and a pair of large glasses.

"Oh, hello there, Miyuki-chan. It's been so long. How are you, baby girl?" the older man said with an awkward smile.

*SEVERAL MINUTES LATER*

Miyuki was slowly coming out of the shocked state she had been left in by seeing her father again. A father that, for years, she believed had died a great and honorable man, but she now realized that she had been lied to all her life and he was now sitting here in front of her alive and well.

"D…Daddy?" she said in a low whisper, drawing the attention of Mr. Saotome as well Ranma and the entire Tendo family.

So, taking a deep breath, Miyuki let herself say the only thing that had been racing through her mind over the past few minutes.

"Daddy…why? Why did you leave us? I mean, for years, I…I thought you were dead. And onii-chan…I had forgotten you even existed. And now I find out that not only are you still alive, but you both seem to have some kind of weird curse or something. How…How did this happen to you?"

Mr. Saotome then cleared his throat as he tried to find a good way to explain their current situation to his daughter. And after a few seconds, he seemed to come to a decision, because he pulled out a tattered booklet from the inside of his martial arts robes and threw it on the table in front of them.

Curious, Miyuki leaned over to read the front cover.

"Jusenkyo: The Training Ground of the Cursed Springs."

This was all she could read on the cover, for the rest of the words were written in what appeared to be Chinese.

"Daddy…what exactly is Jusenkyo?"

At that moment, Ranma spoke up, gaining his younger sister's attentive gaze.

"Jusenkyo, little sister…is the cause for our curse, as well as the cause for several other problems."

This caused Miyuki to give her brother a confused look, for he had said these last words in a bitter whisper, like he didn't want her to know what he'd said.

"Onii-chan…just what do you mean "other problems"?"

As she spoke, Miyuki noticed that it wasn't just her brother and father who were avoiding her eye, but also the entire Tendo family.

And these aversions were quickly starting to chip away at her already-frazzled nerves.

"Okay. Will one of you please explain what the hell you all are hiding from me?!"

After a few silent and uncomfortably awkward minutes has passed, Ranma, Mr. Saotome, and the Tendos all fave a collective sigh before Ranma finally began to explain about the Jusenkyo curse and the troubles it has caused to pass. Starting with Mr. Saotome and Ranma's impulsive journey to Junsenkyo itself to the first meeting of the Saotomes and the Tendos and, finally, ending with a recap of the many adventures they had shared.

And with each new story, Miyuki found herself more and more confused about her brother and and father's reason for leaving her and her mother.

"So, this all happened in the past several months, but…Daddy? You left when Ranma and I were only three years old. So, why have you never thought to contact me? Or Mom, for that matter?"

" I'm sorry, Miyuki-chan. But, we were always training and I just never had the time."

Suddenly, Ranma interrupted by slamming his hands down on the table and turned to his father with a heated gaze.

"The reason you never called Mom is that you were too busy selling your infant son to a hundred different men and usually for stupid, selfish reasons, like you were hungry or you lost a fight. You even went so far as to let me forget about my only sister, all to do whatever it takes to cover your own ass!"

As he continued his rant, Ranma's voice grew louder and louder until his shouting echoed through the entire dojo. Finally, Ranma was cut off by Akane placing a gentle hand on his arm, causing him to sit back down with one final furious glare in his father's direction.

"Miyu, I'm so sorry. If I had any idea that you were out there, I would have come to see you the moment we returned to Japan, even with this horrible curse. But, I promise I will do whatever I can to make up for lost time."

Miyuki turned to her brother with a small smile that mirrored his own, ending with a tight embrace in her brother's arms.

"I've missed you, onii-chan. I've missed you so much."

As the two parted, the sudden sounds of someone ringing the doorbell resounded through the walls, followed closely by soft footsteps entering the house.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Kasumi called out in a light tone.

At that moment, Ryoga came into the room, carrying Miyuki's overstuffed backpack over his shoulders.

And seeing who it was, Miyuki quickly shoved her brother away from her person, only to immediately turn to her deep blue eyes on Ryoga with another flirty gaze.

"Oh, Ryoga. I was hoping I'd get to see you again."

Ryoga gulped awkwardly before answering her in a strained voice, "I, uh…I noticed when you left Furinkan High School that you forgot your backpack after Ranma knocked you out."

Ranma then stepped forward with a heavy scowl on his face as he grabbed Ryoga roughly by the front of his ragged yellow shirt.

"I'm warning you one last time, bacon breath. Stay the hell away from my sister or else!"

And just a few seconds later, Miyuki's rage and embarrassment at her brother's sudden interruption caused her to punch Ranma in the shoulder in a fit of anger.

"Owwww! What the hell, Miyu?"

"You stupid jerk!" Miyuki yelled with her eyes full of tears. "That's twice you've tried to stop me from talking to Ryoga and I'm sick of it!"

After another few moments of pounding against Ranma's chest, Miyuki's anger finally gave way to simple weeping, causing her to fall to the floor still clutching her brother's arms.

"Why can't you understand? We finally reunited after all these years, so I don't wanna fight. But, you need to understand that I'm a grown woman now and I don't need you to protect me anymore. I just need you to let ne make my own choices."

Seeing his beloved sister cry over his actions, Ranma felt his heart break as he knelt down and pulled Miyuki into a gentle embrace.

"Please don't cry, Miyu. All I wanted to do was protect you because I love you. You're my precious little sister, but I guess I got carried away. I'm sorry. Just stop crying. Please stop crying."

Miyuki let out a small sniffle as she wiped away her tears before giving her brother a small smile.

"Thank you. And I do appreciate that you care so much. I love you, onii-chan"

"I love you, too, little sister."


	6. Chapter 5

*THAT EVENING AT THE TENDO DOJO*

After Ryoga had left, Kasumi and Akane began making dinner for the entire household while Ranma and Miyuki were upstairs, unpacking her backpack so that she could move into the same room as her brother and father.

As Miyuki was placing her clothes, bras, and panties in the dresser, Ranma was laying out a spare futon on the floor next to his own.

"Hey, you sure you wanna do this, Miyu?"

"Do what, onii-chan?"

"Move in here with me and Pop. I told you about my curse and the many, many, many problems it has caused. But, I feel I should warn you one last time. You are, unfortunately, the exact image of my girl half, so that means you'll probably have to deal with a few of my admirers, along with several rivals that I wish I'd never even met. And they're all different levels of crazy, so it could get pretty dangerous if you don't know how to fight. So, if you truly want to live here, I'll need to test your skills."

Miyuki chuckled to herself before she turned back to her brother with a sly smile.

"You're on."

*TIME SKIP*

After they had finished unpacking Miyuki's things, the two teens walked behind the Tendo household until they had reached the small dojo located in the backyard.

Ranma still wore his bright red tank top, loose black pants, and black slippers, however, Miyuki knew she wouldn't be able to fight in her skimpy dress, so she asked Akane if she had anything she could wear. And the short-haired martial artist gladly lent her a set of white martial arts gi, along with giving her a wide smirk and a simple greeting of "Good luck."

And now that they were in the dojo itself, the siblings each took off their shoes, placing them at the entrance, before they positioned themselves at opposite ends of the room in identical starting poses.

"You sure you're okay with this, Miyu?" Ranma said with a pointed look at his sister. "I have been training in martial arts since we were three, you know. There's a good chance you could get hurt."

But, instead of being scared, Miyiki just let out a loud burst of amused laughter.

"I wouldn't worry about me, onii-chan. I may not practice seriously anymore, but I can still hold my own in a fight."

"If you say so, Miyu." Ranma said with one final sigh before he turned to Miyuki with a confident smile and ready stance.

"Now, let's see what you can di, little sister."

*FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER*

Akane and Kasumi had finished making dinner, so Akane went out to the dojo to call in Miyuki and Ranna. But, when she reached the dojo's exterior, the short-haired girl was met with the sounds of a fierce battle from within.

Worried, Akane threw open the door, only to find herself immediately dodging her fiancée's limp body, which had been flung in her direction.

"Ranma?" she asked, concerned. "You okay?"

Hearing her kind words, Ranma stood up as carefully as he could, holding his stomach where his normally sweet and caring little sister had sucker punched him moments before.

"Yeah, Akane." he said with a tight grimace. "I'm fine. It's just a few bruises. Nothing new. But, I am pleasantly surprised. I had no idea Miyu could fight like that."

"I tried to tell you, onii-chan." Miyuki said with a slight smirk as she stepped out of the dojo.

"I may have stopped training as seriously as you and Daddy, but I still know enough to protect myself."

"Yes, you did. And I believe you now." Ranma groaned as he rubbed his sore and tired body.

"Sorry, onii-chan" Miyuki said in a worried tone. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Trust me, Miyuki-chan. He's been through a lot worse than this." Akane said with a laugh.

"Compared to some of his other fights, this is nothing more than mere schoolyard scarpes."

"Thanks a lot, babe." Ranma muttered in a low voice, causing Akane's face to heat up in embarrassment, along with Ranma's own when he realized what he had just said.

"I…I'm sorry, Akane! I…I…I didn't realize what I was saying! Please don't be mad!" he said in a rushed voice as he waved his hands in front of him in a panic.

But, Akane couldn't meet his eye as she muttered a quiet, "I don't mind, actually." before chancing a shy smile in Ranma's direction with her cheeks still glowing in a shade of pale pink.

"Re..Really?" Ranma said as he rubbed the back of his head with a sly smile of his own.

After a few seconds, Miyuki cleared his throat and stepped forward to break up the touching, but awkward scene going on in front of her.

"Was there something you came out here for, Akane-chan?" she asked politely.

And hearing Miyuki's voice, Akane snapped out of her trance before turning to the petite redhead with a small smile.

"That's right. I completely forgot. Kasumi sent me out here to let you both know that dinner is ready."

"Well then, let's head inside and get washed up."

Ranma then took Miyuki's hand and led her back inside the Tendo household with Akane following close behind, a light blush still on her face.

*TIME SKIP*

After they had washed up from their fight, Miyuki went upstairs and changed into a more comfortable outfit. This consisted of a set of pastel yellow cotton shorts and a white tank top with a glittery gold star across her ample chest, along with a pair of fluffy white bunny slippers, while Ranma helped Akane set the table in the dining room.

Finally, the Tendos and the Saotomes sat down at the table and began eating their meal of meat and potatoes, along with bowls of steamed white rice and pickled vegetables.

"Oh my God! This is the best thing I've ever tasted!" Miyuki said as she placed a tender piece of miso-soaked pork in her mouth and the flavors exploded perfectly on her tongue.

"I know, right?" Ranma said with a proud smile. "Kasumi's a great cook! Owwww!"

His pained cry was caused by Akane pulling an over-sized mallet from nowhere and bringing it down on his head with an angry cry of, "You jerk!"

Miyuki watched in horror as her brother picked himself off the floor while the rest of the group continued to eat their meals as if nothing had happened.

"What is wrong with you people?!" she screamed in a rage. "Why are you just ignoring this?"

"Because this is nothing new." Nabiki answered in a bored tone.

"Wh…What?" the redhead said in shock.

"She's right, my dear." Mr. Tendo said with a small smile. "Akane and Ranma have been doing this from the moment they met. It just proves that were meant to be, right, Saotome?"

"You got that right, Tendo. A match made in heaven."

As the two older gentleman laughed heartily to themselves, Ranma quickly recovered as he sat up, unable to look anyone in the eye. And after another few moments of awkward silence, he turned to Akane with a slight pout.

"So, what the hell did you hit me for? I didn't even do anything!"

But, Akane just turned away from him in a huff.

"Hmph!" she said with her nose in the air. "If you don't know, then it doesn't really matter, does it?"

With that, Akane stood up and stormed out the room. However, Miyuki was sure that she saw the other girl's eyes shining with tears.

"Akane-chan…" Miyuki tried to call out, but was completely ignored by the upset teen.

The redhead then turned to her brother, who had already returned to his food with a resolved sigh.

"Just ignore her, Miyu." he said with a bland look. "She'll get over it sooner or later."

"YOU BIG DUMMY!" Miyuki yelled out suddenly, causing the other Tendos and the Saotomes to stare at her with slightly startled looks as she herself ran from the room after Akane.

*TIME SKIP*

Miyuki is standing outside Akane's room, knocking on the bedroom door as the short-haired teen could be heard crying inside.

"Akane-chan? Are you okay? Answer me!" she call through the door in concern.

"Just go away!" Akane yelled back in a strained voice. So much so that Miyuki felt her heart break at the obvious hurt in her voice.

So, after taking a deep breath, Miyuki steeled her nerves as she made a final decision about her next move.

"Akane-chan, I'm coming in." the teen said before throwing open the bedroom door, only to find herself dodging a pillow roughly thrown in her direction.

"I told you to go away!" Akane said as she turned to glare at Miyuki.

However, the determined redhead stood her ground as she picked up the thrown pillow and walked over to sit on the bed next to Akane.

"Akane-chan, I don't completely understand, but I know enough to know that my brother did something stupid. And if you tell me what that is, I promise I'll do what I can to help you get him back."

Akane then sat up and looked at Miyuku with a small sniffle, "Welk, Ranma's always saying I'm a terrible cook. That anything I make could easily kill a person in seconds. But, just once, just once, I wish I could make him admit that he's wrong. To make him admit that something I made could be the most delicious thing he's ever eaten in his life!"

As Miyuki listened to the short-haired girl's words, she found herself feeling sorry for the poor girl, as well as highly annoyed with her elder brother for being so cruel.

Suddenly, the young redhead let out an excited gasp as she got a wonderful idea before grabbing Akane's hands in her own and turned to her new friend with a wide grin.

"I'll help you!" she said with a wide grin.

"Wh…What?" Akane blinked at her in confusion and surprise.

"I'll help you get back at my brother. Believe it or not, I'm actually a pretty good cook myself. My mom taught me how to cook since I was just a kid. And it should be simple teaching you myself."

"Re…Really?" Akane muttered slowly.

"Of course. So, what do you say? You ready to make my brother literally eat his words?"

Akane looked at the determined spark shining in Miyuki's deep blue eyes, the short-haired teen quickly wiped away her tears and took the redhead's hand with a determined look of her own.

"Let's teach that jerk some respect."


	7. Chapter 6

Over the past week, Miyuki alternated her time between training with her brother and father, helping out with the household chores, and secretly teaching Akane how to cook perfectly.

And one day, as she was helping Kasumi wash the dishes while the older teen went to the store, the young redhead was called into the dining room by Ranma and Mr. Saotome.

"What's up, onii-chan? Is there something wrong?" Miyuki asked as she entered the room, drying her damp hands on a dish towel.

"Not at all, little sister. Pop and I just wanted to let you know that you'll be

going to school at Furinkan High School starting tomorrow. You'll even be in the same class as me and Akane."

"Really?" Miyuki said in pleasant surprise.

"That's right, Miyuki-chan. I thought that, since you'll be staying here for a while, you should be going to school like a normal girl. GAH!"

This last grunt was caused by Ranma throwing a bucket of cold water over his father's head, forcing the older man into his panda form.

"Shut it, Pops. You're not gonna make up for abandoning her with something stupid like that."

The transformed panda growled at the young man as he held up a wooden sign that read, "You ungrateful brat!"

"Like you can talk, old man." Ranma yelled back at the panda. "You always do this! You always do whatever you can to make yourself look better than you really are!"

As he said this, Ranma pulled back a fist to throw an angry punch at his father's wide hulking form, but before he could get a chance, Miyuki threw herself on top of her brother and used her entire body weight to hold them down.

"NO! DON'T!"

"What the hell are you doing, Miyu?!" Ranma called out from the floor in surprise. "Get offa me!"

"I'm sorry, onii-chan. I don't know what Daddy's done to you in the past, but that's still no excuse to hit him when he's obviously weaker than you are."

Mr. Saotome then held up another sign, this one reading, "Wait a minute, Miyuki-chan…"

But, he was quickly silenced by Miyuki holding up a hand in slight annoyance.

"Don't bother, Daddy. Onii-chan's made some good points. However, I will say thank you for getting me into school. At the very least, I owe you that much. So…thank you. Now, if you both don't mind, I still have dishes to wash and dry before the soap disappears."

And with that, Miyuki exited the room with a casual wave in her brother's direction.

*LATER THAT NIGHT*

After the Tendos and Saotomes had eaten dinner, Miyuki spent a good fifteen minutes taking a bath and soaking in the hot water. And when she was finally finished, she changed into her pajamas and pulled her long red hair into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck.

As soon as she was done washing her face with her favorite orange blossom-scented acne cream, Miyuki exited the bathroom, only to find Akane standing just outside the door with her hand held up, like she had been about to knock.

"Oh, good. You were in here."

"Yeah, I was. Can I help you with something, Akane-chan?"

"Not really. I just wanted to thank you for the cooking lessons all this week and let you know that I have something to show you."

Curious, Miyuki shrugged her shoulders before gesturing for Akane to lead the way.

So, with an excited smile, Akane turned around and headed down the hall without another word.

After walking the short few minutes it took to reach the downstairs dining room, Miyuki was met with a smiling Ranma, who was sitting at the table next to several small packages wrapped in brown paper, as well as a single larger packages set off to the side.

"What's all this?" the redhead questioned with a small smile.

"Well, first of all, we should probably tell you that we actually enrolled you in Furinkan High School over a week ago." Ranma answered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"But, we were only able to get your uniform and books earlier this afternoon." Akane finished with a small smile of her own.

"Really? That's so sweet, you two." Miyuki said, feeling her eyes moisten up a bit at the touching actions of her brother and his fiancée.

"These packages here hold your textbooks and the larger one is your school uniform."

The emotional redhead stepped forward slowly before throwing her arms around Akane, then her brother. After which, she picked up her packages with a genuine, "Thank you."

She then exited the room and headed back upstairs for the night.

*THE NEXT MORNING*

Miyuki was jolted awake by the sounds of a high-pitched scream followed by someone running through the house, their thundering footsteps echoing through the walls.

"Wha time izzit?" she said as she rubbed her eyes, only to jump when she heard a loud crash that told her something downstairs had just been destroyed.

"What the hell is going on down here?" she shrieked, now fully awake. She then threw back the covers, jammed her feet into her bunny slippers, and ran out of her bedroom to find the source of the noise.

When she finally reached the dining room, she found the entire Tendo family eating breakfast like normal, while her brother was running through the house in his girl form and appeared to be chasing the same old man from the Furinkan High School courtyard.

And it was this surprising fact that had Miyuki staring at the scene in complete and utter shock.

"WHAT THE…?! WHAT IS THAT CREEPY LITTLE GNOME DOING HERE?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs after her brain had caught up with her eyes.

"Two Ranmas?" the old pervert squealed in delight as he saw Miyuki standing in the doorway. "I must be in heaven!"

The old man then proceeded to throw himself into Miyuki's arms, while the wild spark in his eyes made it obvious that he held hidden motives.

But, luckily for her, he was stopped midjump by Akane landing a powerful hit with an oversized mallet.

"Sorry about that, Miyuki-chan" the short-haired martial artist said as she began to tie up the old man with a thick rope and a series of tight knots. "Happosai came back last night after we were all asleep. We didn't even know he was here until this morning."

"When he woke me up by pouring a bucket of cold water on my head, just so he could grope me." Ranma said as she repeatedly stomped on the old man's tiny form.

"Wait…you all…know this disgusting weirdo?" Miyuki said in shock.

" Yeah, but, Miyu…how do you know him?"

"I ran into him when I first arrived at Furinkan High School. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I may have aided in his escape from a group of angry girls. You remember, don't you, Akane-chan?"

Akane stared blankly for a few seconds but, finally, she let out an audible sigh before answering Miyuki.

"Yes, I remember. At least, you now know the truth about him."

At that moment, the still-female stepped forward and picked up the tied-up and now-unconscious Happosai from the floor, only to swing him around in a circle, finally letting go and sending the old man flying into the horizon.

"AND STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER, PERVERT!"

Satisfied that the old man was gone, at least for now, Ranma turned to his sister with a wide grin, "So, Miyu…ready for school?"

*TIME SKIP*

After they had eaten breakfast, Miyuki changed into her uniform, which consisted of a pale blue apron dress, a short-sleeved undershirt, a pair of white ankle socks, and a set of simple black Mary Janes, while Ranma went into the bathroom to have a quick bath, so that she could turn back into her guy form.

Once she had finished getting dressed, the excited teen took a look at herself in the full-length mirror she had bought a few days ago at a local flea market she went to with Akane. And she was surprised that the outfit was just her size, as if she had been there herself to have it tailored to her exact measurements.

After a few seconds had passed, Miyuki shrugged off her confusion and packed her new school books into the simple brown leather book bag she received with her uniform. And when she completed her task, she brushed out her long red lockes until it fell across her shoulders in slight waves. After which, she tied a soft white ribbon into a large bow in the back of her hair.

Her brother had insisted that she needed to wear her hair in the same short braid as himself, but she made a point of telling him that she never wears her hair up in any sort of style except for on the rarest of rare occasions.

When she was positive that she had her hair in place and everything she needed was in her bag, Miyuki completed her outfit by securing her mother's locket around her neck, leaving the silver charm nestled against her pale skin and making it just visible above her uniform's snow-white collar.

Taking one final glance at herself in the mirror, Miyuki gave herself a short nod of approval before she grabbed up her book bag and ran out of the room in a rush.

And lucky for her that she did this when she did because her brother was already out of the bath, now in his male form, and wearing his usual red tank top, black pants, and black slippers. In fact, he was standing next to Akane, who was wearing the same uniform as Miyuki herself. And both of them turned around as Miyuki entered the room, only to stare at her with twin pairs of panic-filled eyes.

"Thank God, Miyu! We have to get going now if we don't wanna be late. And trust me, with our nutjob of a principal, that's the last thing you want. So, let's move."

And with that, Ranma took both Akane and Miyuki's hands before dragging them through the front door and into the streets of Nerima.

*TIME SKIP*

The trio of teens ran as fast as they could to Furinkan High School before the first bell rang.

But, just as they had the building in their sights, a strange man in a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt and lei began to shut the gates with a loud laugh.

"Oh, dey keikis better run if dey don't wanna be late and get detention."

Akane made it through the gates before they closed, but both Saotome siblings were too late. However, this was only a problem for teens untrained in martial arts.

Ranma picked up a bit of speed before launching himself off the ground towards the stone wall. He then positioned his palms on top of the cool gray stone and propelled his whole body over, only to land safely on the other side of the gate.

"Come on, Miyu! You can make it!"

Miyuki nodded confidently to her brother before attempting to copy his moves as best she could. She picked up her own speed and jumped into the air at just the right moment. After doing this, she placed her own palms against the cool stone and flipped her body a full 180 before making it to the other side in a perfect ten-point landing.

The moment she felt herself back on solid ground, Miyuki opened her eyes, only to see every student in the couryyard starting at her with looks of both shock and awe.

"Onii-chan? Why is everyone staring at me?" she asked her brother, worried that she had done something wrong.

"Just ignore them, Miyu." Ranma said as he wrapped a his arm around her shoulders in a comforting hold.

"I'll explain everything while we walk to class. You coming, Akane?"

"Yeah. Let's get moving before…"

"Ah, the fair Akane Tendo and the elusive pigtailed girl? Still hanging around with that loathsome Saotome rat?"

"…Kuno shows up." Akane finished with a heavy sigh as she put her head in her hands.

As she said this, Kuno stepped out from a nearby tree, holding a single red rose in his hand like some kind of romantic.

"Just who do you think you're calling a rat, Kuno?" Ranma said, flexing his fingers angrily.

As he answered, Kuno pointed his wooden kendo blade at Ranma in warning, "Begone, foul wretch. I have no business with you. My only business lies with Akane Tendo and the pigtailed girl."

After he had finished speaking, Kuno sheathed his sword before running towards Akane and Miyuki with open arms.

"Now, come to me, my lovelies. I shall allow you both to date with me."

But, before he could lay a finger on either girl, Ranma jump-kicked Kuno in the back of the head, while at the exact same time, Akane landed a well-timed punch in the center of the upperclassman's face, causing Miyuki to freeze in shock as the pair retracted their attacks and Kuno fell to the ground in a heap.

"Ummm…what the hell just happened?" the confused redhead questioned as Ranma acted as if nothing was wrong by grabbing her by the hand and leading her through the surrounding crowd of staring teenagers, followed closely by Akane, who was now carrying both her and Ranma's book bags.

"Sorry about that, Miyu." Ranma answered as the trio walked through the halls towards their classroom. "Like I told you when you first arrived, Kuno's a bit of a freak. He's had it out for me from the moment we met."

"Only because you were stupid enough to challenge him after he hurt your precious male pride."

"Hey, he was obsessed with you. And not in a good way." Ranma said, letting go of Miyuki's hand and turning his attention to his fiancée.

And it was this uncomfortable image that had Miyuki freezing midstep and rounding on the couple in shock.

"What…What exactly do you mean by "obsessed"?"

Seeing the frightened and worried look on Miyuki's face, Akane placed a hand on Ranma's arm as she began to explain about Kuno's unusual habits when it comes to women.

"Well, I guess the best place to start is at the beginning. Even before Ranma and Mr. Saotome arrived at the dojo. Kuno made a speech at the start of the year that told everyone in school if someone wanted to ask me out, they first had to defeat me in a fight. So, every day since then, I would arrive at school, only to have to fight off with every boy in school in an elaborate 1vs100 free-for-all battle. But, for some reason, I always won the fight without breaking a sweat, even against Kuno himself.

And it was during one of these fights after Ranma showed up for his first day of school that he and Kuno met for the very first time. After I had beaten all the others, Kuno did what he always did and revealed himself with a dramatic flare.

But, after he did this, Ranma made a point of jumping down next to me, making it obvious that he had some connection with me. He even made the stupid mistake of saying that he was living with my family at the dojo. This, unfortunately, did not sit well with Kuno.

So, he challenged Ranma to a fight for the right to date me, but they were interrupted by a sudden downpour that had Ranma turning into his female form.

Luckily, this went unnoticed by our classmates. At least, until we were forced to stand out in the hall, only to be attacked by an enraged Kuno, who had been told about our situation by Nabiki."

"So, after trying to throw a bucket of water on me, which I was thankfully able to dodge, Kuno annoyingly announced to the whole school that I was now Akane's fiancée before charging at me with renewed anger." Ranma continued.

"We went around for a while, trading blows and insults, until I eventually jumped out an open window."

"Wait…you what?" Miyuki suddenly yelled out in surprise.

"I jumped out an open window. An action I still regret to this day, because I realized far too late that we were both quickly falling towards the school's swimming pool."

"But, that would mean you would…" Miyuki started.

"Yep. The moment I landed in the water, I transformed into my girl form."

"Then, Kuno knows about your curse?" the redhead questioned. "But, he seemed to think that I was you, but instead of calling me "Ranma", he called me "pigtailed girl". So, why would he…?"

"Well, that's not exactly how it happened." Ranma said awkwardly before being quickly interrupted by Akane placing a gentle hand on his arm with a small smile.

"Let me, Ranma." she said before turning to Miyuki with her kind smile still on her face.

"After Ranma landed in the pool, he immediately tried to get away without being seen. But, before he could make it too far, he grabbed from behind by Kuno, who, for lack of a better explanation, ended up grabbing something other than his body."

"You mean he grabbed his…"

"Correct." Ranma said bitterly. "He groped my breasts, rather hard I might add."

"Anyway…" Akane said, annoyed. "…Ranma expectantly pounded Kuno into the pavement before rushing off before anyone could find him out. Fortunately, Kuno is pretty dense, so he just assumed Ranma had ran off scared."

Hearing this, Ranma scoffed before continuing the story on his own.

"That night, Nabiki gave me a note from Kuno that said for the pigtailed girl to meet him at sunset here on the school grounds, so I once again transformed into my girl form and headed for the meeting place.

I waited for a while, but Kuno didn't show up until the sun was finally beginning to set. And after I angrily yelled at him for being so late, I readied myself for a fight, but all he did was chuck a large bouquet of roses at me."

Miyuki couldn't believe her ears.

"He did what now?" she asked in disbelief.

"My thoughts exactly. But, that's not even the worst part of it." Ranma said before he stopped talking, as if he couldn't bear to think about whatever could have happened between him and Kuno.

"Then…what is the worst part?" she questioned curiously.

However, it was Akane who answered her, all with a smirk on her face and slight amusement in her voice.

"Kuno told Ranma that he was in love with him."

It was this sudden announcement that caused Miyuki to freeze in shock for several seconds before bursting into a fit of hysterical laughter and was quickly joined by Akane, while Ranma groaned uncomfortably.

"Can we just stop talking about this already? We're gonna be late for class."

Still fighting off their giggles, Miyuki and Akane noddee in agreement before running down the hall until they finally stopped outside a door with a sign above it that read, "Class 1-F".

"You ready for this, Miyu?"

"Let's do this, onii-chan."

With one final nod, Ranma opened the door before he and Akane entered the room to let their homeroom teacher let them know she had a new student.


	8. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

After a few moments had passed and several students had passed by Miyuki and entered the classroom, the bell finally rang, signaling the start of classes. And eventually, the door was opened by who Miyuki assumed was the teacher, but, instead, appeared to be a small girl with long brown hair and wearing a banana-yellow skirt and matching blazer.

"Hello there, Miss Saotome. We're ready for you now."

Still feeling more than a bit surprised, Miyuki just nodded her head slowly before entering the room herself, only to be met with the stares of her fellow classmates, all of whom were looking at her with both surprise and, strangely enough, a bit of familiarity.

As she took her place at the front of the room, the small girl stood on a nearby footstool and wrote the name "Miyuki Saotome" on the board, as well as the name "Hinako-sensei" next to it.

"Class, this is Miyuki Saotome. Everyone, treat her with respect. Miss Saotome, would you like to say something to introduce yourself?"

"Uh, okay." Miyuki said awkwardly before turning to the class with her brightest smile. "Hi, everyone. My name is Miyuki Saotome, but feel free to call me "Miyu". And if you haven't guessed it by my last name, I am the younger twin sister of Ranma Saotome. I am currently living with him and Akane at the Tendo Dojo. My hobbies include martial arts and cooking. I hope we can all become good friends."

As she finished her short speech, Miyuki gave the class a polite bow when she gave a start as every boy in class suddenly cheered loudly in excitement.

"It's her!"

"The pigtailed girl from the Rhythmic Gymnastics match!"

"And she's Saotome's sister!"

"I can't believe he was hiding her from us!"

As the boys in class got more and more excited, Miyuki began to feel highly uncomfortable at their manic energy. Luckily, she was saved by her brother jumping up from his desk and landing next to her before letting out a shrill whistle that gained the attention of not only the boys, but every person in class.

"All right! Let's get a few things straight. Yes, Miyu here is my younger sister. No, she is not the same girl from the gymnastics match. And if any of you do anything to make my sister cry or hurt her in any way, I will personally make sure that it doesn't happen again. Are we understood?"

Now, while her brother's speech had succeeded in helping Miyuki get over her nervousness, but only because it had been replaced by both embarrassment and annoyance.

"Yeah. Thanks, onii-chan." she muttered. "Thanks a lot."

After a few awkward and silent seconds had ticked past, Hinako-sensei clapped her hands together before speaking to the class with a childlike smile.

"All right, then. There'll be plenty of time for everyone to get to know each other later on. For now, Miss Saotome, why don't you take that empty desk in behind Miss Ashido."

Hearing her name, a girl with dark brown hair pulled into a short ponytail raised her hand, letting Miyuki know who she was. So, with a small smile on her lips, the nervous redhead walked to her assigned desk and sat down with one final look in her brother's direction.

*TIME SKIP*

About halfway through the school day, while the boys in Class 1-F went to Phys. Ed., the girls headed to the Home Ec. Room. Once there, they were immediately told to pair up and make a batch of vanilla-chocolate shortbread cookies.

While Miyuki was confident enough in her skills when it came to making cookies, Akane was still pretty nervous about cooking, even with Miyuki's lessons. And noticing this, the kind teen placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder as a way of saying she would be her partner and help her out in any way she could.

Over the next hour and a half, Miyuki and Akane spent their time measuring and mixing ingredients before placing their separate trays of dough in the large ovens located in the back of the room. And, finally, both girls' batches were fully cooked, and realizing this, Miyuki pulled the steaming trays out of the oven, revealing two sets of perfectly baked cookies, one side colored a rich dark brown with cocoa powder, the other a pale golden yellow with smooth vanilla, both of these flavors mixed together in a slight swirl.

Akane couldn't believe her eyes. Never before had she made something that ended up looking the way it was supposed to. But, the final test was for someone to taste one and be sure that it was even slightly edible.

Or if it would be like everything else she cooked and harshly poison anyone who ate one.

All the others in class were understandably reluctant to try one of Akane's cookies, but this didn't phase Miyuki one bit. The very first thing she told Akane when they started cooking lessons was that a chef's first priority is to the people who would be eating her food, and if the chef herself did not approve of her dish's taste, then it should not be served until it is perfect.

So, Miyuki made the iron-clad rule that before Akane could serve anything to anyone, she must first try a bite of the dish herself.

And Miyuki made this rule because of several horror stories told to her by both Ranma and Mr. Tendo, about Akane just throwing every little thing into the meals she would make without reading labels to make sure she was using the correct ingredient. She had never even tasted any of her dishes to be sure they were even edible.

With a smug smile, the redhead held out a fresh cookie from Akane's own batch to the martial artist herself, saying without words that she was to try the cookie in question to see how it turned out.

Akane stared back at her sister-in-law for several seconds before she gave her a determined look as she grabbed the cookie out of her hand and threw the whole thing into her mouth in one swift movement.

She then chewed silently for another few seconds before she put a hand to her mouth in shock.

"Oh my!" she squealed in delight. "It's so good!"

Suddenly, a series of loud gasps echoed out from behind the two martial artists.

Turning around at the gasps, Miyuki noticed that nearly every girl in class was staring at her and Akane with stunned surprise, especially a pair of girls, one with long light brown hair, the other, the same pigtailed girl whom Miyuki sat behind in the classroom, both of whom immediately grabbed a cookie from the tray. Each of them then took a tentative bite before their eyes widened in surprise.

"This…This is impossible!"

"It's…amazing!"

And after a few seconds of stunned surprise, the two girls turned their attentions to Miyuki, hoping to get some answers.

"Miyuki-san, right?" asked the girl with light brown lockes.

"That's right." the redhead said with a kind smile. "But, just call me "Miyu". That's what my friends and Onii-chan call me."

"My name is Yuka." replied the teen.

"And my name is Sayuri." finished the girl with the ponytail. "But, I have to wonder about something, Miyu-chan."

"And what's that, Sayuri-san?"

"How in the world did you get Akane to make something so good?"

"It wasn't so hard. She actually has great potential when it comes to cooking, she just needed to learn the difference between similar looking ingredients. And…there is one more reason I did it."

As she said this, the rest of the class leaned forward in anticipation.

"My baka of a brother made her cry, so I decided to do whatever I could to make him eat his words."

Hearing this strange announcement, every girl in class paused for a moment before all of them erupted in fits of hysterical laughter.

"That is hilarious!"

"Good for you, Miyu-chan!"

"Good luck, Akane!"

"Hope it all works out!"

After the crowd of students had finally gotten themselves together and the laughter had died down, there was only ten minutes left in class, so they all separated to place their own cookies in the packaging bags that were kept in a cabinet in the back of the classroom.

Miyuki chose a pale pink bag and tied it off with a pastel yellow ribbon. After she had completed her task, she glanced over at Akane, who was tying off her own bag, this one colored the same deep blue as her brother's eyes, with a snow-white ribbon that she carefully tied in a neat bow. Satisfied with her work, she picked up the bag and showed it to Miyuki, who gave her an approving smile and nod.

Finally, the school bell rang, signaling the end of class, and Miyuki and Akane gathered up their book bags and joined the crowd of girls leaving the room, only to be surrounded by a small crowd of boys from Class 1-F.

"Hey, girls. Whatcha got there?"

"Did you make those cookies just for me?"

"How 'bout a quick taste?"

"Sorry, boys." said a girl from their class with shoulder-length black hair named Umeko Tsubaki. "These aren't for you."

As they continued to walk down the hall, Miyuki turned to Akane, only to see her staring ahead at some unknown person. Unknown for a few minutes, at least, before a familiar voice echoed through the hall.

"A woman's greatest joy is knowing that the man she loves will dine upon her handmade delights."

Sighing heavily at the voice, Miyuki slowly turned around, her fears confirmed when she saw that Kuno was posing dramatically a few yards away.

"Now, my angels, allow me to feel your hearts with joy."

As the upperclassman sped forward expectantly, he was suddenly felled by a large rock being hurled at his head.

"You don't wanna do that, Kuno." Ranma said from behind him. "I don't want you anywhere near my sister, not to mention that anything Akane cooks could kill you with one bite."

Hearing his harsh words, Miyuki chanced a worried peek at Akane, who was staring at Ranma with pained tears beginning to form in her dark brown eyes.

The furious redhead then rounded on her brother with such an angry gaze that it had him frozen in fear at what he could have possibly done to cause it.

"What the hell is wrong with you, onii-chan?!"

But, Ranma could only stutter incoherently as he watched his sister place a gentle hand around Akane's shoulders, only to have it thrown off by the short-haired girl's hand as she ran down the hall, leaving nothing behind but the bag of cookies made by Akane's own skills.

"Wait! Akane-chan!" Miyuki called after her before once again turning to Ranma with another harsh glare. However, this one was far worse than the last, her deep blue eyes almost glowing with an unnatural fury.

"Just what the hell is your problem?!" she screamed in a rage. "No matter what happens, it's like you enjoy making Akane-chan cry over something stupid you did or said. Well, if you're so determined to put your foot in your mouth, the least you can do is know why you're being such a jerk!"

After she finished her anger-fueled speech, Miyuki picked up the package of treats from the floor and thrust them into her brother's hands.

"What are these for?" Ranma questioned.

"Maybe if you eat one, you'll figure it out." Miyuki said bitterly before she stormed away in a huff, leaving her brother in a state of stunned confusion.

*LATER THAT AFTERNOON*

Miyuki stayed angry with Ranma for the rest of the day, so much so that when the final bell rang, she walked out of the room without a single word to her brother, followed closely by Akane, who had finally come back to class only after Miyuki found her crying in the girls bathroom.

And seeing that Miyuki was upset with him, every boy in class began ignoring him as well, as if they thought this would impress her in some way. Even the girls in class weren't talking to him, seeing as they had witnessed the whole episode between Akane and the two siblings.

In fact, the only person willing to talk to Ranma was Ukyo Kuonji, but even as she was annoyed with her childhood friend for treating poor Akane the way he did.

When she first arrived in Nerima, the talented okonomiyaki chef would have taken an opportunity like this to take Ranma for herself, but over the past several months, she had come to realize that he would never have feelings for her the way he had feelings for Akane. And as his only friend at the moment, she felt it was her duty to help him make up with Akane and Miyuki.

"Hey there, Ranma-honey." she said, slowly walking up to the depressed martial artist with a wide smile. But, when she did this, all she got in way of a response was a heavy sigh as Ranma continued to stare at a small bag on his desk that seemed to hold a batch of cookies.

"Are those cookies from Akane?" Ukyo asked, worried about the answer, because she knew all about Akane's deadly cooking. She had even tried to use that to her advantage, to no avail, she might add.

So, with a heavy sigh of her own, the young brunette sat down in the empty desk next to Ranma before placing a gentle hand on his arm, causing the spaced out teen give a quick start as he turned his attention to his friend.

"Hey, Ucchan." he said sadly, the tone of his voice proving that he wasn't his usual confident self.

"Do you wanna talk about what happened?" Ukyo said with a kind smile, trying to coax Ranma into conversation. And she was pleasantly surprised when her best friend turned his head and began to do something he had rarely done in the past.

He began to share his true feelings.

"I just…I don't get it, Ukyo. Why would Akane and Miyu be so upset over something I did? Especially when I'm not even sure what I did. I didn't say anything I haven't said before, but Akane still started crying and ran off. And not only that, but Miyuki got mad and yelled at me before shoving this bag of cookies into my hands. The last thing she said to me was, "If I eat one, I'll figure it out", but what in the hell does that even mean?"

Ukyo had witnessed the whole incident with the Saotome siblings with her own eyes, but also knew that Ranma was highly dense when it comes to his own feelings. That's why this current discussion was so surprising to her, because she had never heard Ranma be so open with her, or anyone else, for that matter.

"Well, if eating one is supposed to help you understand, maybe you should…" Ukyo began, only to be cut off by Ranma coming out of his funk and rounded on her with a brilliant flash in his deep blue eyes.

"Don't you think I know that?" he shouted angrily. "I just…don't understand how it's supposed to help."

Ukyo sighed in exasperation as she stood up from her seat, giving Ranma one final pitying look as she proceeded to give him a last piece of advice.

"Ranchan, you may not be the smartest man when it comes to common sense, but you do have decent instincts when it comes to everything else, so I suggest you think long and hard about why a simple cookie could help you figure out why your own younger sister would be so upset with you for insulting Akane the way you did. I want to help you, so, when you do figure it out, let me know."

And with that, Ukyo walked out the classroom door, leaving Ranma to stew in his own confusion and misery.

Ranma spent the next several minutes, staring at the cookies and thinking about what his friend had said. And, finally, he gave into the pressure and opened the small package, pulling out one of the small vanilla-chocolate cookies and holding it in his fingers for another few seconds before throwing it into his mouth out of curiosity.

And the moment the pastry hit his tongue, the sensations that traveled through his taste buds had the martial artist giving a shocked jolt as he slowly sat back down and stared vacantly at the cookies in question.

After several silent seconds had passed, Ranma suddenly bolted up from his seat, grabbed up the small blue package, along with his school bag, and ran out of the classroom in a rush. And as he ran through the halls, out the school's front door, and through the streets of Nerima, the only thing on his mind was getting to Akane and Miyuki to apologize fir his stupid mistake.


End file.
